If you follow hockey at all, you would know that its star player, Sidney Crosby, has been sidelined with a concussion since early January 2011. As with most head injuries, there is no predicting how long recovery would take or if full recovery is possible. After eight frustrating months, and uncertain if he would ever again play the game he so excelled at, Sidney turned to Dr. Ted Carrick, the father of chiropractic neurology, in a desperate attempt to help with his ongoing balance and spatial orientation problems, caused by a disruption in his vestibular system.
Dr. Carrick assessed Sidney, and determined that his injury caused him to not be able to tell where his body is in space or where other objects in relation to him were in space, skills which are essential for an elite hockey player. After determining what his brain dysfunction was, a treatment protocol involving various proprioception exercises to reeducate his brain and develop a new spatial grid were given. This included eye exercises, balance exercise, multitasking exercises and sessions in a unique device called a gyroscope, which spins you around like a fair ride.
After a week with Dr. Carrick, Sidney was sent home. A few weeks later, on September 7th, a high profile press conference was held to update the public on Sidney’s progress, and Dr. Carrick was at his side, explaining his unique therapy. On September 17th Sidney practiced with his team mates on opening day of training camp, without contact and without symptoms. Sid the kid played his first game on November 21st, scoring 2 goals and 2 assists, announcing to the hockey public that he was back.
Currently a 400 person research project is underway at Life University in Georgia to try and validate Dr. Carrick’s treatment protocol, but as many in the field of head injuries would point out, concussions are unique to the individual and as such, so is the treatment prescribed. Many in mainstream medicine remain skeptical, as they have never heard of Dr. Carrick, chiropractic neurology or his holistic approach to treating brain injuries. But Sidney and his support team would tell you that it made the difference with getting him back on the ice.
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